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A wage structure tells DishInk how to calculate gross pay for a staff member. Every person on the payroll needs one — without it, payroll generates a zero-gross record.

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Wage types

Hourly

Pay a base rate per hour worked. Hours come from Clock In/Out. Supports overtime.

Daily

Pay a fixed amount per day worked, regardless of hours. Common for casual staff.

Monthly

Pay a fixed monthly salary. Optionally prorated by working days.

Commission

Pay a percentage of sales attributed to the staff (typically waiters). Combine with a base rate if needed.

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Fields in a wage structure

Wage modal

Wage modal with type, base rate, overtime, and effective-from fields.

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Assigning a wage

1

Open the Wages tab

Go to Staff → Payroll → Wages. Every active staff member is listed with their current wage summary.
2

Click Set Wage or Edit Wage

Opens the wage modal.
3

Choose the wage type

Hourly, Daily, Monthly, or Commission. The form adjusts to show only relevant fields.
4

Enter base rate and overtime

For hourly wages, set the OT rate and threshold. Defaults: threshold 8 hrs, multiplier 1.5×.
5

Set Effective From

Choose today for immediate effect, or a future date to schedule the change.
6

Save

The wage is versioned. Older payroll records continue to reference the prior wage.

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How overtime is calculated (Hourly)

For each day in the pay period:
  1. Sum the hours worked (from clock-in/clock-out pairs).
  2. If daily hours exceed the OT threshold (default 8), the excess is paid at the OT rate.
  3. Non-OT hours are paid at the base rate.
The OT threshold and multiplier defaults live in Payroll Settings but can be overridden on the wage record itself.

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How monthly proration works

When Prorate monthly wages by days is enabled in Payroll Settings:
  • Daily rate = monthly_salary / working_days_per_month (default 26).
  • Gross for the period = daily rate × days worked in the period.
With proration off, monthly staff receive their full salary regardless of the days in the period.

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Commission staff

  • Sales attributed to the staff (via the waiter assigned to each order) are summed for the period.
  • Commission = attributed_sales × commission_percent.
  • If a base rate is set, it is added on top. Useful for a small guaranteed retainer plus performance pay.

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Tips and best practices

  • Set Effective From in the future when a raise takes effect at the start of a new pay period. It keeps history clean.
  • Use hourly wages for shift staff (waiters, cashiers, kitchen) so overtime is tracked automatically.
  • Reserve commission structures for staff who directly drive sales.
  • Keep OT threshold at 8 hrs/day to match Zambian labour norms; adjust only when your operating agreement differs.

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Common mistakes

  • No wage assigned. Payroll generates a zero-gross record. Always assign a wage before the first pay run.
  • Backdated Effective From. Rewriting history can break existing paid records. Prefer future-dating.
  • Forgetting the OT rate. With only a base rate set, all hours are paid at base — no overtime premium.
  • Commission % over 100. Always a validation error. Commission is a percentage of sales, not a multiplier.
Last modified on July 19, 2026